Story of the Day:
When economists are concerned with the economy and anticipate change in direction, they ought to use one of the indicators called the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) so as to give special scrutiny. Read more
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Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Chipoka Mulenga has challenged mining firms to ramp up copper production and reach the 3-million tonnes target per year, now that Government has scrapped off mineral royalty taxes in the 2022 National Budget. Mr. Mulenga says the New Dawn Government wants the Mining sector to thrive and expand production so that more jobs can be created and contribute to economic development. Read more: ZNBC
The Zambia National Building Society (ZNBS) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lafarge Zambia that will see lower prices of cement and free delivery with reduced interest rates on mortgages. Under the MoU, Lafarge has pledged discounted cement to all the beneficiaries of the Bwela Timange, a promotion that ZNBS is currently running on mortgages as well as free delivery. Read more: ZNBC
FNB has launched the Helping Everywoman Rise-H.E.R initiative, which will help address some of the challenges that women face in accessing financial products. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Exactly 6 days after MinFin Head Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane presented a $10 billion (K173 billion) budget that would steer Zambia to economic rebound, Zambia’s Chief Investment Officer, the Head of State Hakainde Hichilema courted dollar bond holders in London, on the sidelines of the Glasgow COP26 climate change conference. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Business confidence in Zambia has continued to scale up given improved macros giving manufacturing costs an ebb. According to a Markit Economics survey for October, Zambia’s gauge for manufacturing health headlined 51.2 from 50.3 the previous month supported by lagged effects of currency appreciation which eased input costs for most manufacturers that eventually lowered their selling prices. Read more: The Business Telegraph
International Business and Finance
Global food prices have hit the highest level in over a decade after rising by more than 30% in the last year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. The agency’s figures highlighted the soaring cost of cereals and vegetable oils around the world. Vegetable oil prices hit a record high after rising by almost 10% in October. Read more: BBC News
President Joe Biden has hailed the passage of his landmark $1tn infrastructure spending package as a “monumental step forward”. Negotiations over the sweeping public works bill – which passed the House of Representatives with 228-206 vote – created a bitter split among Democrats. Read more: BBC News
Tesla CEO Elon Musk faces a tax bill of more than $15 billion in the coming months on stock options, making a sale of his Tesla stock this year likely regardless of the Twitter vote. Musk asked his 62.7 million Twitter followers over the weekend whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla holdings. “Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock,” he tweeted. Read more: CNBC
U.S. stocks rallied to record levels on Friday after the October jobs report came in better than expected, boosting optimism about the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 203.72 points, or nearly 0.6%, to 36,327.95. The S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 4,697.53 for its seventh straight positive day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2% to 15,971.59. All three major averages reached their respective record closing highs. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report Sponsored By ZCCM-IH
In 72 trades recorded on Friday, 156,394 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K345,646.44. Trading activity was recorded in, Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Lafarge, Real Estate Investments Zambia, Pamodzi, Puma, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zambia Breweries, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) remained at 5,192.01 with a percentage change of 1.84.